Gthere audiobooks have become, for some, aindispensable daily presence. Running boring errands, tidying up the house, traveling on public transport, waiting for your turn at the doctor or in a shop are no longer empty times. They are the opportunity to take out the earphones and start or continue the reading of the beloved book of the moment. Indeed, l‘I listen. A’alternative to listening to musicjust as in the 80s we went around with the Walkman (the link is necessary for readers born after the 90s). But what effect do they have on the brain? What are the cognitive and neurological benefits beyond those linked to the pure pleasure of reading and listening?
We talked about it with Professor Gabriella Bottinihead of the Cognitive Neuropsychology Center of the Neuroscience Department of the Niguarda Hospital in Milanthat for Audible explored the benefits that listening to audiobooks has on the human brain, highlighting the different skills that it helps to develop in the 3 phases of life: childhood, youth and adulthood.
Audiobooks: the benefits for concentration and vocabulary
«Listening is not just about the auditory cortex, but it involves a multitude of brain regions which are activated by creating an integrated network of processes that goes beyond auditory perception, influencing linguistic, emotional and memory skills» explains the expert. Regardless of age and type of book chosen, studies show that listening in general increases concentration, trains attention and helps to enrich one’s vocabulary.
How is listening to audiobooks different from listening to music before bed?
«It is different first of all because the musical content, even if it has its own semantic structure especially for connoisseurs, is not comparable to listening to a novel or an essay which activates the neural systems that constitute the organ of language, in particular the brain areas responsible for understanding”, explains Professor Bottini.
The effect on the brain depending on age
Furthermore, listening to audiobooks has an effect on brain development depending on age. «In children, listening to stories contributes to emotional and linguistic development. In the young adults, trains multitasking ability, engages the prefrontal cortex and stimulates the imagination. In the’adulthoodaudiobooks keep the parietal cortex active and trained reducing the risk of cognitive decline. Regardless of age, the words conveyed with a “emotional” timbre cause a 50% increase in activation of the brain areas involved in language processing”, adds Professor Gabriella Bottini.
Listening to stories activate various areas of the brain
When we listen, the auditory cortex, located at the top of the temporal lobe, is activated in processing sounds. However, the activity of listening is not limited to involving only this region of the brain. Listening, therefore, sets in motion a truly integrated network of activities and brain regions that stimulate memory and emotions. There is therefore an invisible connection that unites the stories heard and the human brain. This imaginary thread involves different brain skills and allows you to enhance the imagination, enrich the languagenot only in its purely verbal aspects, but also in its socio-emotional ones and strengthen the ability to concentrate even when carrying out several activities at the same time.
Audiobooks, millions of stimuli at the same time
«We are immersed in a complex and multifaceted reality that provides the brain millions of stimuli at the same time. The brain is an extraordinary organ capable of systematizing all inputs thanks to what neurophysiology defines “multisensory integration”», explains Professor Gabriella Bottini. «Listening not only completes, but enriches the perception of the world. Listening is a further way of receiving and organizing reality.”
Audiobooks and emotions: how important is the timbre of the voice
Thanks to listening, children develop the ability to focus attention on emotional acoustic stimuli. The timbre of the voice and the way words are pronounced are the basis of emotional communication and they consolidate social interaction and empathy skills in those who listen. Some studies show that at any age the words pronounced with an “emotional” tone they cause a 50% activation increase of the brain areas involved in language processing. Source: The Sound of Words Evokes Affective Brain Responses. Aryani, A., Hsu, C. T., & Jacobs, A. M. (2018). Brain sciences, 8(6), 94.
Listening and children: a stimulus for curiosity and emotional intelligence
Neuroscientific studies show that for children from 0 to 6 years listening to a story told by parents or an audiobook read by a familiar voice consolidates the positive affective state and stimulates the curiosity towards other activities. Listening to friendly voices, crucial from the first months of life, contributes both to the development of language (also improving pronunciation) and of socio-emotional communication.
Young adults: multitasking, more focused and creative
For the young people between 18 and 25 years old the listening activity is accompanied by the need to perform several other actions at the same time. This overlap between the attention paid to what is being listened to and the correct execution of the activities carried out in the meantime are an infallible brain training.
The great merit of reconciling listening with concomitant actions goes to the prefrontal cortex, i.e. the anterior part of the frontal lobe of the brain, used for planning complex cognitive behaviors which, by extending the active neuronal network, is able to maintain attention focused on listening. In addition to making us concentrate, thelistening allows you to give vent to your imaginationa skill that begins to develop in early childhood and matures in adolescence and adulthood.
Audiobooks in adulthood: antiaging for the brain
In adults, however, listening to audiobooks can have benefits other than cultural enrichment, al improvement of cognitive skills until the fight cognitive impairment. «There are many areas of the brain that are stimulated by the Hippocampus, the area involved in the process of recording and retrieving information in the prefrontal cortex which deals with higher executive functions, including attention, concentration and cognitive control » explains the expert. Following the plot, focusing on the voice that tells a story allows us to activate a real gym for the cognitive stimulation of our brain.
Audible listening tips for…
Develop emotional intelligence in the little ones
● “The Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl, narrated by Neri Marcorè: One fine day in the mysterious Wonka Chocolate Factory a warning is issued: whoever finds the five golden tickets in the chocolate bars will receive a supply of sweets enough for the rest of his life and will be able to visit the inside the factory, while only one lucky person among the five will become the owner. Who will be the winner?
● “The pizza champion” by Geronimo Stilton, narrated by Geronimo Stilton: Since the new super trendy Pizzadoro restaurant opened in Topazia, Trappola’s pizzeria has been losing customers. How can we relaunch it and convince Jack&Jill influencers to choose it for their show? Here we need a special idea, or rather… a special pizza!
● “Mary Poppins” by Pamela Lyndon Travers, narrated by Paola Cortellesi: When Mary Poppins, driven by the East Wind, lands in front of number 17 of Viale dei Ciliegi, everything changes in the life of the Banks family. The most extravagant of all nannies, with her white gloves and magic bag that even contains a camp bed, she glides lightly over the railing and is ready to enchant children into surprising adventures.
Stimulate creativity and imagination in young adults
● “Down in the valley” by Paolo Cognetti, narrated by Paolo Cognetti: A father planted two trees in front of his house, one for each child. The first, a larch, is Luigi, hard and fragile, who in thirty-seven years has never left the valley. He and Betta fell in love while bathing in the river pools: now they are expecting a baby girl. The other tree is a fir: Alfredo is the youngest son, shady and resistant to frost, restless and a brawler. To avoid causing any more trouble he chose to escape far away, to Canada, among the sad Indians and oil wells. But now he’s back.
● “Hunger for air” by Daniele Mencarelli, narrated by Federico Cesari: Among white stone hills, hairpin bends, and perched villages, Pietro Borzacchi is traveling with his son Jacopo. Suddenly the clutch of his old Golf abandons him, at the worst moment. Daniele Mencarelli comes to terms with one of the most intense feelings: parental love
● “The Book of Sisters” by Amélie Nothomb, narrated by Carolina Crescentini: Nora and Florent live a perpetual idyll. Pushed by friends and social conventions, they decide to have children. Tristane, the eldest daughter, is born within a short time, but nothing changes: Florent only has eyes for Nora, who loves him back.
Train your mind to stay young
● “When we were the masters of the world” by Aldo Cazzullo, narrated by Marianna Jensen: The Roman Empire never fell. All the empires in history have presented themselves as heirs of the ancient Romans: the Eastern Roman Empire; the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne; Moscow, the third Rome. And then the Napoleonic and British Empires. The fascist and Nazi regimes. The American empire and the virtual one of Mark Zuckerberg, a great admirer of Augustus.
● “Weapons of Light” by Ken Follett, narrated by Riccardo Mei: The fifth extraordinary chapter of the Kingsbridge saga. The Weapons of Light takes place between 1792 and 1824, a time of great change in which progress clashes with the traditions of the old rural world and the despotic government is determined to make England a powerful commercial empire.
● “The fragile age” by Donatella Di Pietrantonio, narrated by Elena Lietti: Amanda narrowly catches one of the last trains and returns home, to that town near Pescara from which she had run away. One look is enough for her mother to understand that something in her has gone out: in the early days in Milan she had the lights of the city in her eyes, now she seems to just want to disappear, she locks herself in her room and almost doesn’t speak. Lucia would like to keep everything about her hidden, even at the cost of suffocating her, but there is a secret that she cannot hide from her.
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